Sheffield — Mt. Everett Regional School’s drone team competed at Cromwell High School in Connecticut on Saturday, March 16. The team of eighth graders competed against 26 other teams from all throughout New England at an event organized by the Robotics, Education, Competition (REC) Foundation.
The REC Foundation organizes and holds robotics events and competitions for school-aged children from around the country.
The theme for this year’s competition, in which teams piloted their drones around an obstacle course, was “Eclipse.” The competition included “missions” with two separate teams working together to reach a desired goal.
“I think that having a drone group for students at the school gives students opportunities to have fun with technology,” school Technology Director Chris Thompson told The Berkshire Edge. “This group gives students opportunities to learn how to work together, learn about drones, coding, and other things that will help them no matter what their choice in life will be. After they graduate from school, students may go into the technology field or they may not. But the point is that children are having fun when they are working with technology, and I think it’s important for students to find inspiration and have fun.”
According to Thompson, membership in the school’s drone program has increased substantially from last year. “Last year we had only four students, but this year we have 11 students,” Thompson said. “Last year we were a successful team and we ended up competing at the East Regional Drone Championship in West Virginia. I think we have more members because of the success that we had last year.”
Zayre Trail was a member of last year’s drone team and continued with the team this year. “I have gotten a lot of teamwork skills and other skills by taking part in the team,” Zayre said. “In my opinion, drones are part of a new day and age in technology. Drones are fun to operate, and I like operating them. Operating a drone is one of the best experiences I’ve ever had.”
Student Matt Bennett, who also returned to the team from last year, said that he used to race drones around buildings and other objects for fun. “It’s just great to be able to fly something,” Matt said. “Drones are pretty cool, and you can do a lot of things with them.”
